My office is a hotbox

S

Subsequence

n00b
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Messages
26
So i would like some advice and please forgive me if i chose the wrong subforum.

I recently moved to a bigger house and as such i was fortunate to get a new dedicated room for my gaming rig and diy stuff etc. Now the problem is my config is quite a heatmonster which was never a problem in the old situation. But the problem is the room is quite small and heats up very quickly with the door closed, which i have to do to not disturb others when they're sleeping.

The specs are a [email protected] 1.3v and a 290X. So that's 2 components that are going to give problems(atleast together). I've decided at least one of them has to go, maybe even both. But the question is which will be the bigger contributor to the heat in my room.

Some insight would be welcome, i'm tempted to just sell these components and buy a 4790K and 980GTX and be done with this sauna.

I usually play cpu intensive games like civ5, wow and others but in retrospect i think the 3930k was a mistake on my part.
 
None of those games mentioned need six cores. Civ only uses four. You also don't need quite so aggressive an overclock, unless you're pushing a 120 Hz monitor or something.

If all you do is game on a single or possibly dual GPU, that Sandy-E platform is a total waste. Get the 4790k + GTX 980 and be done with it. You can probably even run that Devil's Canyon stock until you get a better room with more ventilation, since it's already somewhat overclocked out-of-the-box. Your power consumption will drop by half, and gaming performance should be noticeably faster if you game at 1440p or below.

And don't overclock so aggressively unless you feel like your games need more performance. Higher voltages and clock speeds take your processor and GPU out of the "sweet spot" for voltage and frequency determined by the manufacturer.
 
Last edited:
Well i had some other plans to use those six cores for but those didn't pan out. And it seemed like fun to get a 3930k as high as possible. But yeah i guess i will get rid of them both, less noise would also be welcome. Thank you.
 
Install a portable air conditioner.

Run your house air conditioner and/or leave the blower fan always on instead of auto.

Open a window.

Close off unneeded vents (closets, guest bathrooms, etc) throughout the house to direct more air to the rooms that need it.
 
To clarify i'm from Holland and my house does not have any vents, ac's or blowers on the ceiling. I can open a window but then the cat will go out the window and onto the roof(this monster kills more then enough birds as it is) and if i lock it outside the door will wake up everyone in the house :p

And no putting a mesh in the window will result in quick destruction of said mesh.

I might sound like i'm trying to justify an upgrade but i really don't have many options here.
 
You could open a window and put a box fan it it. That would stop a cat from getting through it and also get some ventilation going on.
 
What kind of monitor do you have? I have an old Dell 3007wfp that is like running a furnace, you can tell when you touch the top or back. I got the chance to use their new led 30" and it was night and day - going to try to get one when I can since I struggle with the same issue.
 
You could also put a screen in the window, that keeps my cats inside.
 
QuiteSufficient said:
What kind of monitor do you have? I have an old Dell 3007wfp that is like running a furnace, you can tell when you touch the top or back. I got the chance to use their new led 30" and it was night and day - going to try to get one when I can since I struggle with the same issue.
Click to expand...

Yeah my screen is a Samsung 275T with ccfl backlight and it is also quite hot, but i'm holding out for a nice 4k display that won't break the bank. Maybe even oled but that will probably take a couple more years for it to be reasonably priced.

timta2 said:
You could also put a screen in the window, that keeps my cats inside.
Click to expand...

If you mean those to keep flies and stuff out then no you haven't seen this cat, it will tear that shit up by climbing in it to the top.
 
Okay, you're in a house with no interior ventilation?
No air returns?
Are you running radiant heating? (Radiators)

If that's the case, the suggestion to build a window box and put a fan or AC unit into it is probably a good one.

You may also want to talk to an HVAC specialist to see if there's anything that can be done about rebalancing your heating/cooling system so that particular room stays cooler.
 
Make a custom watercooling loop that extends so far that the radiator is outside of the room and the tubes run under the door or .... somewhere else

hell idk. :D
 
Subsequence said:
The specs are a [email protected] 1.3v and a 290X. So that's 2 components that are going to give problems(atleast together). I've decided at least one of them has to go, maybe even both. But the question is which will be the bigger contributor to the heat in my room.
Click to expand...
For the CPU, what type of cooling are you using? How long has it been installed?
 
How about underclocking / undervolting or / going back to stock?

Free and minimal effort required.
 
Question that I haven't seen come up yet: How do you have the motherboard configured?
If you have it configured to keep it at that frequency all of the time it could help to re-enable speedstep (or whatever it's called) so the motherboard/os will throttle down the cpu when idle.
As others have mentioned you could also back off the overclock and overvoltage some, that would also help tons. The GPU shouldn't do much at idle as pretty much every GPU nearly turns itself off when running only 2D stuff.
 
86 5.0L said:
Watercool and mount the radiator in the window.
Click to expand...

I like this idea. Alternatively, you could run ducting from the hot air exhaust on the PC Case and duct it out the window similar to how a portable room AC unit works.
Portable-ac-window-vent.jpg


IMO the only correct [H] answer is to setup a custom loop with the rad external and underground to take advantage of geothermal cooling, and then crank up the OC MOAR!
:D
 
Suprfire said:
Make a custom watercooling loop that extends so far that the radiator is outside of the room and the tubes run under the door or .... somewhere else

hell idk. :D
Click to expand...

I would have suggested this, but I'm down that road and I know it can / probably will be hugely more expensive than just putting a box fan or AC in the window ;)
 
I think all of the good suggestions have been pointed out, to summarize in my opinion:

Most Effective to Least Effective (also happens to be Most Expensive to Least Expensive):
  • Water cooling to external radiator that exhausts air outside the room
  • Ducting that exhausts the air out of the case outside the room
  • Fan in the window to get circulation in the room
  • Modifying clockspeed / voltage on components

I would suggest you simply start from the bottom and work your way up until you are comfortable. Taking off your overclock completely will lower the heat output from your computer significantly, and is a very easy fix. You will likely find that you don't notice a whole lot of difference in the performance of the computer either.

The only option I didn't list was getting newer components, because I don't think that will solve your problem (which is lack of ventilation) and it is quite expensive. If you don't want to watercool, ducting the computer exhaust should be relatively inexpensive and should prove quite effective.
 
Ditch the 290 and get a 980. Will be a night and day difference temperature wise.
 
Exhausting the heat is more efficient than introducing cold air. I put my computer in the closet. Installed an attic fan and duct in the closet. Ran a long video cable to desk location. Wireless keyboard/mouse/audio. The heat goes up the roof vent and noise is confined within closet. I've also done this for several customers with home offices/studios and they are super happy at what a difference it makes.
 
Subsequence said:
So i would like some advice and please forgive me if i chose the wrong subforum.

I recently moved to a bigger house and as such i was fortunate to get a new dedicated room for my gaming rig and diy stuff etc. Now the problem is my config is quite a heatmonster which was never a problem in the old situation. But the problem is the room is quite small and heats up very quickly with the door closed, which i have to do to not disturb others when they're sleeping.

The specs are a [email protected] 1.3v and a 290X. So that's 2 components that are going to give problems(atleast together). I've decided at least one of them has to go, maybe even both. But the question is which will be the bigger contributor to the heat in my room.

Some insight would be welcome, i'm tempted to just sell these components and buy a 4790K and 980GTX and be done with this sauna.

I usually play cpu intensive games like civ5, wow and others but in retrospect i think the 3930k was a mistake on my part.
Click to expand...

Crack a window open, it's October. Or if you're unlucky enough to be in a warmer part of the country, I'd honestly just pick up a window A/C or a portable A/C that vents out the window for that room. The cost of running modern day air conditioners is NOT that outrageous at all, especially if you run it when you're in there only.. you're talking about dollars a month. Most of them are very quiet too.

It just seems silly to downgrade your computer when in reality it's not going to make a huge difference. I keep the heat vent closed in my office and let my computer actually heat it, now that it's cold outside. If it still manages to get a little too toasty in here, I open a window a little. :shrug:
 
I'd start putting everything on stock clocks. That should net you 50W, maybe more, of a gain. Which adds up.

Keep in mind that in a few months that won't be a problem... and you will have a warm room for free :)
 
Thanks for all the suggestion's guys!

Regarding my house it's all concrete and bricks so modifying it will be troublesome, as i said i'm not located in the US. So our houses are a bit different :)

In the end the most practical is a window fan, i could decrease the oc etc but i think most of the heat is coming from the 290X(no oc). My system has all the power saving function's enabled, vcore set to offset etc. And running my cpu slower well i dunno.. it's already bugging me thinking about it but that's a bit of ocd haha.

Anyways, if i have some time this weekend i'll have a look at some quiet box fans. Thanks again!
 
The system in my sig it more than powerful enough to play most modern games, at decent rez and fps. It's also pretty quiet, and does not put out much heat. Bonus points for being damn compact!
 
I have a feeling that while upgrading to more efficient components might make a difference, it won't totally solve the problem. The real problem is ventilation of the room.

I suggest:
1. Put a screen in the window, to keep the bugs out, and then open the window.
2. Put the cat outside the room before closing the door.

If the cat absolutely has to be inside the room with you, then get a tougher screen, or a box fan that fits in the window.
 
prava said:
I'd start putting everything on stock clocks. That should net you 50W, maybe more, of a gain. Which adds up.

Keep in mind that in a few months that won't be a problem... and you will have a warm room for free :)
Click to expand...

You are way off. That overclocked CPU is adding a TON of extra heat.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2011/11/14/intel-sandy-bridge-e-review/10

70W extra at IDLE
270W extra at LOAD

Going back to stock clocks will make a huge difference in the heat output.
 
OP If you are going the window fan route, may I suggest this? One side blows out hot, the other side sucks in cool (in theory). I have one and I just set it to exhaust and most importantly it prevents my cats from clawing through a screen to get outside.
bionaire-bwf0910ar-wcu-remote-control-window-fan_12809_400.jpg
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
shyboi said:
OP If you are going the window fan route, may I suggest this? One side blows out hot, the other side sucks in cool (in theory). I have one and I just set it to exhaust and most importantly it prevents my cats from clawing through a screen to get outside.
bionaire-bwf0910ar-wcu-remote-control-window-fan_12809_400.jpg
Click to expand...

this is a perfect idea....you could even run like a dryer duct from the hottest fan or fans blowing out and run it to the fan exhausting the air outside...meanwhile you have cool air being blown into the office from the fan blowing opposite direction
if the outside temp wasn't very cool you could do something more like this to the main exhaust fans on your pc
duct.jpg


I have always wanted to try something like this during the summer months as to make it easier for my ac to not have to fight the hot air exiting the pc vs having it blown around the room. blow that shit outdoors just like a dryer does in the summer and when it reaches winter just use the heat to heat the room (if needed) if it were cold outside you could even use the same idea with a duct somehow attached to an intake fan on the pc as to blow super cold air into the case, versus room temp air.
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top